I think Alistair and Lars have summed up our whirlwind tour into Northern Italy. My personal experience was pretty much what you can already imagine on your own: beautiful food, beautiful coffee, beautiful landscapes, beautiful wine ....
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....ha ha! Look at that ironic comparison -- most of my family thinks of this trip in terms of hard, physical athletics. Me? I'm just looking for more calories. Feed Me! :-) :-) :-) ha ha!
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My Italian returned in a sort of jagged lurching, following it's decades of sleep. Just enough awake to be "dangerous" -- you know -- mixing up words, that sort of thing. I have promised myself, following this experience, to be EXTRA nice to people who say in English:
The footpath is church?
when they actually mean,
Is this footpath closed?
On Sunday, we went to Vinci to see the house where Leonardo was born. So cool....it was my favorite thing of all. The posted information said it was typical for a 15th Century Farmhouse.
Of course, with an outdoor brick oven :-). Am now convinced that these should automatically come with all of our houses, like patios.
I know it sounds silly, but will confess it anyway: I was actually GIDDY walking through the olive trees lining the path to the farmhouse. Olives!!!! I have ten photos of olive trees alone.
I know it sounds silly, but will confess it anyway: I was actually GIDDY walking through the olive trees lining the path to the farmhouse. Olives!!!! I have ten photos of olive trees alone.
I felt guilty that I didn't read more before I went; but the really great thing about Italy is that no matter where we were, there was always something historical or beautiful, interesting or delicious close by.
And I got scented ink from a paper shop in Pisa. The label tells me that this blue ink will smell like lavender....but, I'm savoring the package for a little while; I can't bring myself to break the wax seal and open it yet. Doesn't that just make you want to sit down, and write something? :-)
5 comments:
SCENTED INK?!!! Oh, my goodness, what we Americans are missing in the finer things of life... :)
Tanya, I am right there with your olive tree giddiness. I could almost hear you looking at the pictures. (And wishing I was walking with you.)
You know, for all of the crummy stuff about military life, the world and life education your children are getting is so invaluable. Enjoy! :)
Look at the anchovies:*) And only you would find and buy scented ink. And I'm with you on the oven thing....mmmmm....pizza:*)
You know I've thought for years about an outdoor oven, lots of room for such a thing here...need details! Ha! Sounds like there's so many types to choose from, right? (Wish I were there to see it all with you..for more reasons than the ovens, of course.)
Mom -- I can tell it's you :-) ... you are definately the kind of person who would have the outdoor oven!! I'll write you / call you separately with the details, but Bernard Clayton tells me in the back of his "Breads" book how to build MY OWN beehive oven. With Chicken Wire and - I think - Quick-Crete. See? SO totally your thing...!! So totally my thing!! I am pretty sure we talked about this before?
Padden4 -- it would have been great to walk through there with you. :-) I might have even been tempted to make you an olive wreath for your hair. Wait...that was laurels, right? Either way, it was pretty. G. would draw the line at the paper store, though, don't you think? ;-)
Mobileholmes -- the anchovies were from our ultra-long lunch in Riomaggiore, waiting for A. and Ian at the time trial. I should have gotten two plates; Lars and Eliza were in the right moment for trying new things, and we sort of fought over them.
I'll show you my beehive oven pages, as well. Something like that would go well with all your outdoor entertaining....
Sounds like a wonderful getaway...even if it means more calories. :-)
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